JUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT

By J. H. ALLEN

Part Three

CHAPTER III

THE OTHER OVERTURNS

In connection with the prophecies concerning the removal of the crown of David from the head of Zede­kiah to the head of a prince who belonged to the hith­erto non-ruling branch of the royal family of Israel's race, the Lord said, "I will overturn, overturn, over­turn it; and it shall be no more (moved or overturned) until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him." These words teach that, after the removal of David's crown from the head of the then ruling prince, there were to be three overturns -- no more, no less -- and that after the third overturn the crown must rest, or stay in the place where it is left by the third over­turn, until that person comes to whom it belongs by right. Then at least one more overturn will be necessary, for that seat of power must yet go back to the city of David.

The first of these overturns we have already traced from Palestine to the islands of the north-west, which are in the "great waters." We now propose to show that the other two of these predicted overturns took place in those self-same islands, or, in other words, that these three overturns landed the sceptre and throne al­ternately in Ireland, Scotland and England; and that, even after the third overturn, the kingdom is still, as the word of God declares, "in the isles afar off," and in the sea."

It will be impossible to follow the history of the overturns of this kingdom, unless we again take up the thread of history as it concerns the pillar stone, upon which the kings of Israel were crowned; for, strange as it may seem to some people, both ancient and modern history come honestly to the rescue of prophecy, and follow that stone through each of these overturns.

We have already seen, according to Josephus, that, prior to the return of the Jews from Babylon, Ezra (Esdras) received a letter from Xerxes, which was so full of offered favors, love, and fraternal greetings, that he sent a copy of it to the ten tribes in Media-Persia, and asked them to return with the Jews to Jeru­salem. But the ten tribes refused this offer, and Jo­sephus tells us that the entire body of Israel remained in that country. On the other hand, Ezra (Esdras), who was in a position to know more about them, says that they decided not to return, and also that they took counsel among themselves, and resolved that they would go further away into an unknown country. In ac­complishing this, Esdras says, "They entered into Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river. For the Most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the waters till they were passed Over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half." This is in harmony with the fol­lowing: "The breaker is come up before them; they have broken up, and have passed through the gate and are gone out of it, and their king shall pass before them; and the Lord on the head of them," (Micah 2:13).

The clause, "They have passed through the gate," and the one by Ezra, "They have entered into the nar­row passages," are parallel, and refer to the same cir­cumstance and place. This gate, or narrow passage, which is up among the headwaters of the Euphrates, is now called the Caucasian Pass, or the Pass of Da­riel. As Israel goes out through this pass, Micah says that the Lord is on the head of them, but it is left for Ezra to say that the Lord gave Israel evidence of his presence, because he gave them signs and held still the floods, as he did at Jordan, until they passed over.

But while the Lord is with Israel, it is said of their king that he shall pass before, or precede them to that unknown country to which they are going. It is for this reason that Hosea says, "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a sacrifice, and without an image," or, as the marginal reading gives it, "without a standing pillar." Young, in his Exhaustive Concordance, gives among other defi­nitions of the original Hebrew word, both that of memorial stone and pillar. Other scholarly men who have investigated this text, in connection with its con­text, even give us pillar-rock and pillar-stone as the correct rendering.

All this, supplemented by the fact that the word of God associates the absent king with the absent pillar­stone, justifies our conclusion, that the pillar in ques­tion is the Bcthel pillar stone which was used as a coronation stone, consequently it was left with the royal family which ruled over the Jews until the over­throw of Zedekiah.

We must also remember that Jeremiah and his little remnant were taken, against their will, and against the direct command of God, to Egypt, and that while there they dwelt in Taphanhes. Morton W. Spencer says, "It is an undeniable historical fact that about 580 B. C. (i.e., the very time of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon), that a princess from the East did arrive in the north of Ireland. Her name was Tephi, a pet name like "Violet," denoting beauty, fragrance. Tea Tephi was her full name, found in Hebrew. The Tea, a little one, and Tephi answering to a surname. Taph, the root word, is used in many scriptures (Gen. 34:29, and Deut. 1:39) (Vide Concordance). Her names were interchangeably used as Tea, Taffe, Taffes, Tephi, the Eastern Princess, the Daughter of Pharaoh, and Tea Tephi; either of these serve to identify her as "The King's Daughter." In Egypt she was offered protection, and from her the city of Taphanhes or Dahpne was named, doubtless, and to this day we are shown the site of "The Palace of the Jew's Daughter," by the Arabs. The fact that she fled the country is still preserved in her name, Tarah, meaning one ban­ished or flight.

The name of Pharaoh is neither a given nor a sur­name, but it is the Egyptian name for king or mon­arch. The very fact that Irish historians called Tea Tephi "The Daughter of Pharaoh" is proof that they knew her as "The King's Daughter." Also this name, "The King's Daughter," is the only one used in the Bible account of the first overturn to designate that daughter of Zedekiah who succeeded him to the inher­itance of David's throne, excepting, of course, that metaphorical name, "Tender twig," of Ezekiel's rid­dle. Since the name Tea means "little one," and since a tender twig is also a little one, it certainly takes no great stretch of faith to believe that these two names belong to one and the same person. Especially is this the case when we consider that in the Tea Tephi of Irish history we have a king's daughter, with a Hebrew name, who not only came from the East, but also from Egypt, and who is the daughter of a Jew.

But there are still other facts connected with the arrival of this princess in Ireland, which, as we con­sider them, will strengthen our faith more and more. Tea Tephi was accompanied by an aged guardian, who was called Ollam Folla, more Hebrew words which mean revealer, or prophet. The prophet was accom­panied by a man who was his scribe, whom the chron­icles of Ireland called Brug, or Bruch. Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe while they were in Judea; he went with the little remnant to Egypt, and escaped when the rest did; for his life, like the lives of the rest of his party, was to be preserved in all places whither he should go. This little company disappeared from Egypt, but surely they reappeared in Ireland, for, mar­vel of marvels! they brought with them a pillar-stone, which has ever since been used as the coronation stone of the kingdom.

Later, Tea (sometimes spelled Teah) Tephi herself was Crowned upon this pillar-stone, and the name of Erin's capital was changed from Cathair Crofin to Tara, which is also another Hebrew word. But at this juncture history comes to our help, and with unques­tioned authority declares that, from that time until the present, every king and queen who has reigned in Ire­land, Scotland or England has been crowned upon that self-same pillar or coronation stone. Queen Victoria herself was twice crowned upon that stone, the first time as Queen of England, and the second time as Empress of India.

On the occasion of Queen Victoria's coronation, June 28th, 1837, an article appeared in the London Sun, which gives a description of the coronation chair and the coronation stone, as follows: "This chair, com­monly called St. Edward's chair, is an ancient seat of solid hardwood, with back and sides of the same, vari­ously painted, in which the kings of Scotland were in former periods constantly crowned, but, having been brought out of the kingdom by Edward I, in the year 1296, after he had totally overcome John Baliol, king of Scots, it has ever since remained in the Abbey of Westminster, and has been the chair in which the suc­ceeding kings and queens of this realm have been inaugurated. It is in height six feet and seven inches, in breadth at the bottom thirty-eight inches, and in depth twenty-four inches; from the seat to the bottom is twenty-five inches; the breadth of the seat within the sides is twenty-eight inches, and the depth eighteen inches. At nine inches from the ground is a board, supported at the four corners by as many lions. Be­tween the seat and this board is enclosed a stone, com­monly called Jacob's, or the fatal Marble, Stone, which is an oblong of about twenty-two inches in length, thir­teen inches broad and eleven inches deep; of a steel color, mixed with some veins of red. History relates that it is the stone whereon the patriarch Jacob laid his head in the plains of Luz." This, as you see, was published more than sixty years ago, before it was thought possible that the Anglo-Saxons were the de­scendants of Joseph, the inheritor of the birthright blessing which God gave to his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This article further says that "this stone was con­veyed into Ireland by way of Spain about 700 years be­fore Christ. From there it was taken into Scotland by King Fergus, about 370 years later; and n the year 350 B. C., it was placed in the abbey of Scone, by King Kenneth, who caused a prophetical verse to be engraved upon it, of which the following is a transla­tion: "'Should fate not fail, where'er this stone is found, The Scots shall monarch of that realm be crowned."

"This antique regal chair, having (together with the golden sceptre and crown of Scotland) been solemnly offered by King Edward I to St. Edward the Con­fessor, in the year 1297 (from whence it derives the appellation of St. Edward's chair), has ever since been kept in the chapel called by his name; with a tablet affixed to it, whereon several Latin verses are written, in old English characters. . . . The stone main­tains its usual place under the seat of the chair."

Prior to the time that King Kenneth had his verse engraved on that Coronation Stone, there was a prophetic verse which had attached itself to it, which Sir Walter Scott has rendered, one word excepted, as follows:

"Unless the fates are faithless grown,
And prophet's voice be vain,
Where'er is found this sacred stone
The Wanderers' Race shall reign."

Think of it! For more than seven hundred years this stone has been in Westminster Abbey. Dean Stanley, in his "Memorials of Westminster Abbey," says: "The chief object of attraction, to this day, to the innumer­able visitors to the Abbey, is probably that ancient Irish monument of the empire known as the Coronation Stone." He calls it a "Precious Relic," and says that King Edward I. said that "It is the one primeval mon­ument which binds together the whole empire." The Dean further adds: "The iron rings, the battered sur­face, the crack, which has all but rent its solid mass asunder, bear witness to its long migrations. It is thus embedded in the heart of the English monarchy, an element of poetic, patriarchal, heathen times, which like Araunah's threshing floor in the midst of the temple of Solomon carries back our thoughts to races and customs now almost extinct, a link which unites the throne of England with the traditions of Tara and lona, and connects the charm of our complex civilization with the favors of Mother Earth, the stocks and stones of savage nature. Faithful or foolish, the sentiment of the nation has, through three hundred gen­erations of living men, made it felt that Jacob's Pillar Stone was a thing worth dying for in battle. By the treaty of Northampton in 1328, the emeralds, pearls, and rubies were carried off without a murmur. But the Ragged Old Stone -- Oh no ! -- the Londoners would have died for that! The stone of Scone, on which it was the custom for the kings of Scotland to be set at their coronation, the Londoners would on no account suffer to be sent away."

Dr. Poole says: "This stone is a dull, reddish or purplish sandstone, with a few small embedded peb­bles; one of these is quartz and two others of a dark material. The rock is calcareous and is of that kind which masons call freestone. Chisel marks are visible on one or more of its sides." There is no rock of this kind in England, Ireland or Scotland. But the Rev. Canon Tristram says that there is a stratum of sand­stone near the Dead Sea just like this stone, which by the English people is called Jacob's Pillow Stone.

This stone is called by the Irish and by the Scotch "Lia Fail" and "The Stone of Destiny." In Irish Lia is stone and Fail is fate, hence, the stone of fate, or the stone of destiny. But it is that only because it is Jacob's Pillow-Pillar Stone. This is the reason that Tea Tephi was called "The Daughter of God's House." (Log, or Lug, Celtic for God, and Aidh, a house; hence the word Lughaidh.) Amergin, chief bard to King Dermod, monarch of Ireland in the sixth cen­tury, in the "Notes of the Annals of the Four Masters," refers to Tea Tephi as follows:

"A rampart was raised around her house,
For Teah, the daughter of Lughaidh,
She was buried outside in her mound,
And from her it was named Tea-mur."

The parentage here assigned to Tea Tephi could have been for no other reason than that she was the daughter of "God's house," to the people to whom she brought "God's house," the Stone, which was their Shepherd-stone, i.e., Bethel. Morton W. Spencer says that Lia (sometimes spelled Leag) is an Irish word and means "a stone," but that Phail is Hebrew, and is itself a Scripture word, and is of the deepest import, for it means wonderful, and is so translated in Isa. 9:6. This we have verified, and it clinches our thought that the Bethel stone, or Lia Fail, the Stone Wonderful, is indeed a symbol of that Divine Rock, that Wonderful One, THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION.

The fact that there are iron rings in the stone which is in the Coronation Chair, and that they are worn, is remarkable. The question arises, How and when were they worn? It could not have been in the royal halls of Tara, or in the abbey of Scone, nor since it came to Westminster, nor in the temple of Jerusalem; but surely it could have been when, for forty years, Israel journeyed through the wilderness, and had both literal and spiritual drink from their Shepherd rocks that fol­lowed them.

The modern classic Hebrew uses little dots like pe­riods to represent the vowel sounds. These dots are placed in various positions about the alphabetical char­acters which represent the consonant sounds. But it is a well-known fact that in ancient Hebrew writings, both secular and sacred, there are no characters, not even the little dots, to represent the vowel sounds. Hence, the vowels are absolutely unwritten, and the consonants of a word are so arranged that the speaker is compelled to give the vowel sound while pronouncing the consonants. Take, for instance, the word Bethel. There, in the original, we have only that which is equivalent to the English B-th-l. At Bethel, as we have already shown, when Jacob set up the Bethel stone, he used it for an altar, at which he worshipped, and upon which he made his vow. Prof. Totten, of New Haven, says: "The altars of ancient Ireland were called Botal or Bothal, meaning the house of God." That is, it is the Hebrew word Bethel, and has the same meaning.

Thus the Bethel stone again proves itself to be a per­fect type of Christ, for although Christ is many other things, he is also the Christian's altar. Proof: Jesus said to the Pharisees: "Whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" In this we see that the altar is that which sanctifies. Elsewhere we are told that "Jesus Christ, of God, is made unto us sanctifica­tion." Since it is the altar which does the sanctifying, then he who sanctifies is the altar. Thus, it is written, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. . . . Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people (i.e., do that which the altar does) with his own blood, suffered without the gate."

Yes, the Altar-Shepherd was smitten, and concern­ing that other rock, Dean Stanley speaks of the crack, which, he says, "has all but rent its solid mass asun­der." Could it be possible that rent was made when and because Moses smote the rock when he was told to speak to it? But, be this as it may, history has made it impossible to escape the fact that, like a true shepherd, this stone has followed the fortunes and misfortunes of its people for two thousand five hundred years.

Joshua, at one time, took a stone, set it up, and said unto all Israel. "Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you lest ye deny your God." Thus we see that a stone may be a witness; and the historians of Great Britain, either wittingly or unwittingly, have made Lia Fail (sometimes spelled Leag Phail) a witness to an unbroken line of sovereigns, for it has been the throne upon which their rulers have been consecutively crowned, ever since it was landed in Ireland.

Further, there have been just three overturns of this kingdom. The first, as we have shown, was from Palestine to Tara, in the plantation of Ulster, through Tea Tephi, Jeremiah's ward, the "King's Daughter." The second overturn was from Ireland to Scotland, through Fergus, who sent for Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny, and had it brought from Tara to lona, where he was crowned. The third OVERTURN was from Scot­land to England. At this time the throne was brought from Scotland and placed in Westminster Abbey, where it rests under the protection of the greatest monarchy on earth.

Hence, if this Coronation Stone which is in West­minster, which the English call Jacob's Pillow, and which their Scotch and Irish ancestors called "God's house," "B-th-l," "The Stone of Destiny," and "Leag Phail," "The Stone Wonderful," -- we say, if this stone is indeed what these names and what its history declare it to be, then it is indeed the veritable throne of Israel, upon which the sons of David were formally crowned in the Temple of God at Jerusalem. Consequently, in this also, God has kept faith with David, and preserved his throne through all generations that are past.

This makes us feel like singing the Doxology, because it is just as it should be. When the Bethel stone was in Bethel place, it was "God's house," in God's house; when it was in the Temple, it was still God's house, in God's house; when, as one of the jewels of empire, it was taken by Teah, the "tender twig," and placed in the heights of Israel in the islands of the sea, it was still God's house, in God's house. The de­scendants of Teah and Herremon are the custodians of that rock today, and their subjects possess all the distinguishing marks whereby prophecy declares the lost house of God shall finally be recognized and found. And in the midst of this great national or racial house there is a house of God, a "spiritual house," which is by some called "Spiritual Israel," and which is, like lit­eral Israel was, FOUNDED ON A ROCK.